Press It Till It Hurts
by fwuzzfwuzz
Summary: Jenny is gone, Trevor is gone, Rachel is barely there. Mike feels alone, and blames Harvey. Harvey thinks Mike is being an idiot. This fight was long overdue. Some Mike whumpage and protective Harvey.


Today was a horrible day - if he had to put this on a chart of most horrible days of his life, this ranked among the worst. Harvey was ignoring him, which was pretty normal for the past few weeks. The older man had locked himself in his office, on a long conference call all day.

He practically bit Mike's head off when the associate tried to get some files to him. Mike shrugged it off and buried himself with work. Harvey was touchier than usual without Donna around to soften him up.

Donna, Mike missed her. She wouldn't even speak to him after that whole trial fiasco. He really messed that one up.

Later that day, Kyle came to his cubicle with a look on his face like he just won the jackpot. He was holding his new Ipad with something vaguely familiar on the screen.

"My name is Mike Ross, and I am a fun, sweet guy looking for a special someone to spend some time with-"

Mike paled and bolted up, he lunged forward to grab the device but Kyle pulled away, laughing. All the other associates perked up, watching the scene unfold.

"My favorite activities include bike riding, reading and," Kyle paused in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, "visiting my _grandmother._" He mocked. Some of the spectating guys started snickering.

"Put it down." Mike ordered, already making it around his cube. He face was bright red and he was shaking with anger.

"What Mike, you don't want us to know how _sensitive_ you are." Kyle asked innocently.

"Why are you even looking me up on that site?" Mike questioned hotly, again making a grab for the Ipad.

Kyle stepped back easily, "Does it matter? This is pure gold."

"Oh, yeah, I bet you have a profile. What's your profile say, interested in men?" Mike spat out, and snatched for the Ipad again. Kyle suddenly slammed up against Mike, he stumbled backwards - and lost his footing, and rolled on his ankle. He cried out, feeling sharp stabs running up his leg.

He gripped on his cubicle, so hard his knuckles were white, trying to keep himself standing but his ankle was sending out angry signals of pain. Mike shut his eyes tight and felt Kyle slap him on the shoulder.

"Oh, sorry - I guess I lost my balance." Kyle apologized unconvincingly and walked away. Mike bit his lip and opened his eyes, he saw Rachel standing in the walkway - just coming in. She shook her head and left the room. Great, she must think he's an idiot.

Mike took a shuddering breath and hobbled to his desk. The sharp stabs subsided to a dull ache. He probably had a minor sprain, he remembered the last time he had sprained his ankle.

Some bully pushed him around, until he tripped backwards over a tree root (of all things). The bully just laughed until Trevor came over, knocked him unconscious, and helped Mike get up. Mike was twelve and he was trying not cry but was being unsuccessful about it.

_"Forget that idiot." Trevor draped his arm under Mike, "Let's get you home, maybe your grandma can get some ice."_

Mike missed that Trevor, the one that protected him, the one that was there for him. He missed Trevor in general.

Riding his bike home was not as hard as he thought it would be, and when he got home he put his swelling ankle in ice. He had some bandage but he would put it on later, he had a profile to delete.

"This is stupid." He muttered to himself, as he scrolled down the recommended profiles on the latest match website. Every girl just got gradually worse and profiles reeked of lies and exaggerations.

For instance, Melly Smith, blonde, 5'2", favorite activities include clubbing, drinking and pole dancing.

Mike shook his head, what were these girls looking for - a casual hookup?

He went to his account settings and deleted his profile, submitting himself to the doom and gloom of singledom.

Mike rubbed the back of his neck, hearing it crick and absently grabbed his phone without even realizing it.

He probably should delete Trevor and Jenny from his phone and his thumb hovered over Jenny's name. He twitched, and nearly started making a call to his old flame, "Shit!" He exclaimed. Dropping his phone, He picked it up and was relieved to see only his contacts lit up on the screen.

Suddenly, his phone started to vibrate and Harvey's name flashed onto the screen. Perfect timing as always.

Mike immediately answered, "Hey, Harvey." Admittedly, this was the first time he had spoken to Harvey all day so he was apprehensive.

"Where are you?" His voice was low, and there was a murmur of several conversations going on in the background.

"Uh, at home." Mike replied. He frantically tried to remember if he was supposed to meet Harvey somewhere that night.

"On a Friday night? What are you doing?" Mike could almost hear Harvey's frown form on his face.

Mike looked at another flashing wink on his profile page, and even though Harvey couldn't see, Mike's face flushed bright red, "I uh - um, was on this website-,"

"Never mind, I don't want to know." Harvey interrupted quickly, which only caused Mike to protest that it was perfectly innocent but Harvey replied with a cutting sigh. "Dress in something presentable and meet me at Porter house."

Mike hesitated, waiting for some type of elaboration, he readjusted his phone and his eyes flicked to his jacket draped over his couch.

"Uh - that's a nice restaurant; need to get out of a date?" Mike's voice bubbled up with amusement, imagining Harvey with Melly, the woman from that dating website. He nearly laughed out loud at the imagined scowl on Harvey's face to Melly pole dancing on his table.

"I don't need any love life deductions from a man watching porn on a Friday night."

Mike sputtered, brought down from his amusing daydream, "What, Harvey! No, it's"

"Get your ass down here." Harvey hung up, leaving Mike still stammering to get a sentence out. He wanted to throw his phone across the room, but instead took a deep breath. At least he would have something to do.

Mike arrived at Porter House in a navy pinstriped suit and white button down shirt, but his jacket was unbuttoned with no tie. His ankle was bandaged up, and he endured the aching pain as he tried to not show he was favoring one leg over the other. He didn't need an inquisition from Harvey.

When he entered the restaurant, he immediately saw Harvey looking immaculate but dressed similarly to himself. Mike was relieved that he wasn't underdressed.

Unexpectedly, Harvey was alone and had two folders to the right of this empty plate. He was drinking some type of liquor and frowning at a few documents in his hand. The restaurant was booked, and bustling with wealthy New Yorkers, some dressed much nicer than Harvey and Mike.

"Sir, may I help you?" The man, standing at the podium in the entrance, was appraising Mike's appearance and his tone bordered on condescending.

Mike straightened his posture, "Yes, I am meeting Harvey Specter, he is sitting over there." He pointed in Harvey's direction who probably hadn't even seen Mike.

The waiter nodded and started walking in the direction of the table, "Follow me, Sir." He demanded. His tone had not changed but the way he held himself and the way he spoke gave Mike the impression that he was very efficient but impatient.

"Here you are." He said and laid a menu on the table. Harvey glanced up and nodded to the man as Mike took a seat.

"About time you got here."

"30 minutes?" Mike raised an eyebrow, and then picked up the menu scanning it. Harvey dropped a hand on the menu.

"We're not here to eat," He paused, "And your apartment is 15 minutes from here."

Mike scoffed and deftly pulled the menu out of Harvey's grip, "By cab."

Harvey groaned, "You took your bike here?"

"What's the big deal? I take it to work every day." Mike went in defensive mode, suddenly self-conscious about taking his bike.

"I think that a five star restaurant" Harvey waved his hand around like a tour guide pointing at a landmark, "Doesn't usually attract helmet head, bike messengers on a regular basis."

"It shouldn't matter, I'm a paying customer." Mike grumbled while running his hand through his hair, just in case he did have helmet hair.

Harvey snorted but let it drop, "Fine, but we're not here to eat," He slapped a folder on top of Mike's menu, "Look over this; and then get it to our new client, Mr. Hayler tomorrow morning."

Mike curiously opened the folder but his face fell, "It's a new client contract, this can't wait?" The last way he wanted to spend his weekend was looking over contracts and delivering them to arrogant executives.

"No, it can't wait." He said while taking a quick swig from his glass. He gave no more information on the topic. Mike felt annoyed, Harvey could have had Ray drop this off at his apartment but insisted on Mike coming down to a nice restaurant and not letting him eat.

Not letting him _eat_! He was hungry for God's sake, and the food smelt so good and if anyone asked, he most definitely was not getting grumpy because he came with expectation of free food.

"I'm not an errand boy." He tried to hide the bitterness that seeped into his voice.

"Yet you rode your bike here." Harvey surveyed him as if looking for signs of bike riding on his attire. Mike forced back the childish impulse to mock Harvey's words back at him.

"Fine, I'll get this to Mr. Whatever-his-name-is" Mike nearly pouted, tucking the folder under his arm and getting up. He winced; another sharp pang ran up his leg.

"Mr. Hayler." Harvey corrected and glared at him, "Stop throwing a fit, and sit down." Harvey's penetrating gaze made Mike pause. He heaved a sigh and sat down, the smell of a steak being delivered to the table next to them wafted to his direction. Mike was really not having a good night.

"This isn't the first time I've given you weekend work. What's going on?" Harvey's question caught Mike off guard, well not the question, more the tone. It was accusatory. Mike immediately threw his walls up.

"Nothing."

"Did you have plans this weekend?" Harvey pried.

Mike looked away, "No."

Harvey strummed his fingers on the table, "Monosyllabic Mike, this is a first." The younger associate wasn't really sure what Harvey was digging for but he didn't like the direction of the conversation.

Unfortunately, his thoughts didn't linger on Harvey for too long. The sharp cramps in his leg weren't subsiding, and he slowly stretched it out, taking care to avoid Harvey. He grimaced and Harvey's eyes narrowed. "Why do you look like you're in pain?"

Mike shrugged, "This conversation is a pain." Harvey leaned back.

"You're guarded. You usually only get this way when you're in some kind of trouble." Harvey remembered Mike's strange behavior when he was trying to hide the fact that drug dealers were chasing him down because of Trevor.

"I'm not, I just have better things to do than sit at a restaurant and not eat." Mike complained. He didn't look Harvey in the eye and played with a loose thread on one of the napkins.

Harvey leaned forward, his face an unreadable mask, "Is Trevor in anyway shape or form gotten you in some type of trouble?"

Mike felt his face heat up, and he glared at Harvey - hoping to burn him off the face of the planet. He didn't need to deal with these mindless accusations.

"There's nothing going on." Mike's voice had a dangerous edge.

He meant it, there was nothing going on for him. He didn't have anything to do, no one to really turn to and just unwind. Someone to participate in casual beer drinking, TV watching, anything really.

He didn't even have Harvey's trust to fall back on, that made him feel worse.

Harvey was apparently preparing to say something; just by the way he squared his shoulders and tipped back his head. Mike didn't want to hear it and once again got up, barely biting back a gasp, "I'll get this to Mr. Hayler." He half saluted and left under Harvey's scrutinizing gaze.

The next morning, Mike woke up early; He has hard time sleeping that night. He had a pounding headache to accompany his ankle. He didn't dare un-bandage it, unwilling to see the damage. He dragged himself to his kitchen area and poured some coffee, just the smell invigorated him.

He looked at his small oak dining table and saw the contract lying there, flipped open. He winced at the memory of last night's conversation, Harvey probably was un-amused by Mike's sullen attitude. Mike was partly relieved that Harvey was unaffected by that type of stuff, and would just brush it off. He wasn't the type to dig deep and find out what's wrong, he just didn't care. He didn't care that Mike was alone in all this.

Whenever his thoughts drifted in this direction, his mind tended to wander off to his mother. He always had difficulties with obtaining friends, all throughout grade school. His mom always told him that they didn't know what they were missing and that he was special. False platitudes.

The coffee started to bubble up, and Mike took it off the hot tray and poured some in his favorite mug. He took a sip and felt 100 times better, something about coffee that soothed him. He went to his medicine cabinet and downed a couple aspirin, hoping to stave off any aches.

After getting ready, he hopped on his bike and headed off to the office of Mr. Hayler which was inside a very tall, sleek skyscraper. The man was working on the weekend, which appeared to be the norm judging by the open calendar on his secretary's monitor.

The secretary was very pretty which didn't surprise Mike. She looked up and actually batted her eyelashes at him. "Mr. Hayler, will be with you in one moment, please have a seat."

Mike gave her a smile and took a seat. For several minutes they glanced shyly at each other like grade school students until Mr. Hayler walked out of his office.

"Michael! Harvey said you were coming down here." The man was probably in his mid-fifties, salt and pepper hair, with almost a jovial Santa Claus look to him.

Mike got up quickly, and felt his leg muscle spasm, and nearly fell over. He marched through the pain and shook his hand, "Yes, Harvey wanted you to sign this."

Hayler looked at him carefully and took the papers and quickly signed them, "Done. Harvey was pretty anxious to get these signed quickly before I headed out to China tomorrow. Big business merger, need the best legal support I can find." Hayler laughed and Mike followed but he wasn't particularly sure what was so funny.

Mike now felt a little guilty for giving Harvey so much crap the night before. Harvey entrusted him with this important client and Mike nearly threw it back into his face like a petulant child.

Hayler glanced at his wristwatch, "Well, I've got to get going - have a good weekend, Michael."

"You too, sir." Mike felt a bit flummoxed by Hayler's quick exit and looked to his secretary who had a knowing smile. She reminded him of a younger version of Donna.

"Mr. Ross, here is my card if you would like to schedule a meeting with Mr. Hayler in the future." Her smile revealed that the card was not only for the reason.

Mike flushed and grabbed the card, "Thank you, ah," he glanced at the card, "Ms. White."

"Call me Emily." She smiled again, but her desk phone rang before Mike could formulate a reply. He nodded to her, and she shooed him away mouthing to call her erasing any doubt of an ulterior motive to giving her card to him.

After calling her later in the afternoon, she agreed to meet him that evening for dinner.

Mike spent the whole day soaring, not even a bum ankle could keep him down. Figuratively of course, it could keep it down literally. This would be demonstrated after an especially long bike ride and a pain no amount of aspirin could quell. He would definitely be taking a cab tonight.

While looking on the internet for interesting places to eat his phone rang, it was Harvey.

"Hello." Mike answered, distractedly scrolling through a long list of choices.

"Did you get it?" Harvey questioned, the sound of radio music was playing the background.

"Yes, Hayler signed it pretty quickly."

"He better have - he's getting a better deal out of this than I am." Harvey's voice was smooth and confident, "I'll be at your place in 10 minutes to pick them up."

Mike felt a rise of panic, the last time Harvey was here, he was not amused with Mike's "paraphernalia" lying around. "Ok, sure." He said tightly and then he was left with a dial tone.

Mike spent the next ten minutes shoving tons of stuff in a closet making his place look less like a bachelor's pad. He hobbled around ignoring the throbbing aches traveling up his body. There was a rap on the door and Mike answered it, out of breath.

Harvey just raised his eyebrows, "Did you just shove a bunch of stuff in a closet?" He looked pointedly at the just-slammed-shut closet door.

"I have your folder." Mike ignored the question and walked to his dining table, Harvey close behind.

Mike straightened the files into the folder for a second and turned to Harvey who was holding Emily's business card. Harvey was frowning and then he glanced to Mike's open computer, his frown deepened.

"Cancel it." He didn't mince words as he flicked the card to the table and grabbed the files from Mike.

Mike's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What?"

"Cancel your date with Mr. Hayler's secretary." He put weight on the word "secretary".

"Her name is Emily." Mike retorted, his shoulders tensed.

"Oh I saw her name; I just thought you might have forgotten her title." Harvey's voice was condescending.

"I didn't, and I won't cancel it." Mike was not giving up the first date with someone since Rachel just because Harvey didn't approve. He slid his hand over her card and pocketed it as an act of defiance.

Harvey clenched his jaw, the only sign that he was getting pissed off.

"We are not messing up this perfect merger just because you can't keep it in your pants." Harvey replied derisively, and he continued to stand there with an expectant look on his face, "Come on, I don't have all day."

Mike's eyes flashed with anger "Get out of my apartment." He said through gritted teeth. He was offended that Harvey thought he could take over his life.

Harvey looked unbalanced for a moment at Mike's extreme reaction and then laughed, looking up to the ceiling incredulously, "How strong can your feelings be for a girl you just met?!"

Mike turned away and walked to his kitchen looking for something to busy himself with; he would not let Harvey get a rise out of him. With his back turned, he was able to hide his pained expression. His voice was strained as he steadied himself by leaning heavily on the countertop, "Harvey, leave it alone." He then opened his dishwasher and submitted his full concentration to putting his dishes away.

"Mike, I'm not leaving until you cancel that date." Harvey said simply while walking into the kitchen. Even with his back turned, Mike could hear the tightness in Harvey's voice.

Mike ignored him and put his glass cups away with a dangerous amount of force.

"Oh, now I'm getting the silent treatment?" Harvey exhaled sharply, "Can we be mature about this?"

Mike continued to put his cups away, feeling his breathing deepen. Harvey expected him to obey at a moment's notice. Who does he think he is, to tell him who he could associate with? It wasn't like Harvey's love life was a prime example.

Mike flashed back to the night he talked to Harvey about Rachel. He regretted listening to Harvey, and now he had to watch Rachel from afar, the only girl that he honestly cared for.

The cups were clinking together, like bells, taking the entirety of Mike's focus. He knew Harvey was right behind him, staring, but the younger man tried to not let it affect him.

"Mike, I don't have time for this."

Of course he didn't. Harvey only cared about himself, he told him to let her go so he could keep his job. Mike slammed a cup harder than he intended, causing the cup to crack but it didn't shatter.

Harvey hissed, his steps came closer and he took the cup out of Mike's hand, "Watch out before you cut yourself." He reprimanded.

Harvey was entirely too close and Mike pulled away, huffing in exasperation. "Oh, my well-being actually matters to you?" His voice filled with sarcasm.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harvey's eyebrows drew closer, impatience seeping into his voice. Mike scanned Harvey, who was holding the glass so tight it might break under the pressure. A tiny part of him was surprised that Harvey took an offence to an insinuation that he doesn't care. For all Harvey's talk, his actions didn't match.

But Mike knew an easy target when he saw one, and if it helped him win the argument then he'd go for it. Even if he felt vaguely conflicted about using it.

"Oh I don't know, the only time you seem to care about me is when something I'm doing directly affects you."

Mike didn't look Harvey in the eye, he looked just above his shoulder to his bookshelf, stuffed with books, and he could see "The Great Gatsby" halfway out of the straight rows. It was bothersome - but not as much as Harvey.

Harvey drew his mouth into a thin line. "Stop twisting this to something you know isn't true." He called his bluff.

Mike capitulated, "I'm not. You've never told me. You don't want to show any weakness." Mike mocked, throwing past words at him.

"Mike, you're trying derail this conversation."

Harvey rubbed his forehead, and took a moment to dump the cracked cup roughly into the trashcan. "I'm not going anywhere until you cancel. That. Date." He spoke the last part slowly, punctuated by slamming closed fist on the counter top.

Mike hid a startled jump with a shrug, "I don't see why this is really an issue."

"You're being purposefully obtuse."

"No I'm not, I like her and I don't see why you should have a say in it." Mike glared at Harvey. He was not going to cave here, so Harvey should just give up.

Harvey then slapped his head, "Oh right, Mr. Mike Ross, falls in love with every pretty girl in his nearest vicinity. I really can't mess with true love."

Mike balled his fists, "Better than Harvey Specter, uses and hurts everyone who loves him in his nearest vicinity."

Something in Harvey's eyes hardened, and he approached Mike quickly, causing Mike to take a quick step back. His foot gives way to the abrupt pressure, and Mike gasps. Harvey is too angry to notice.

"Take out your phone, right now." The steely edge in Harvey's voice forced Mike to comply, "Cancel with her now or god help you, I will fire you right here and now."

Mike took a sharp breath, and pushed down the rising anger in the pit of his stomach. "The only number I'm calling is 911 for trespassing." He spits out. He tried to push past the senior partner, but Harvey didn't move, instead he closed the distance, unaffected by his threat.

His eyes bored into Mike, saying nothing. Mike didn't know if he had rendered the older lawyer speechless or if Harvey was just formulating a response.

Abruptly, Harvey broke eye contact and Mike felt victorious but it was short lived when he saw Harvey pull out his phone.

"If you won't, I will call her. You know me," He gave a humorless smile; "I won't be nice."

Mike knew when he was backed into a corner. He scowled and purposefully brushed past Harvey before slipping out his phone. He didn't even bother hiding his limp.

He briefly texted a half-assed excuse on why he couldn't go out that night and sent it. Harvey looked satisfied, his smirk firmly in place. Mike felt a flash of anger blazing in him.

"Press it till it hurts, work every time." Mike muttered testily while haphazardly throwing his cell phone on the table. Harvey's jaw tightened and Mike knew he hit a sore spot.

"Are you going to tell me what this really is about? You're not fooling me with this love at first sight deal."

"Because it doesn't exist." Mike was again, using a sarcastic tone. Harvey looked like he was grinding his teeth with the way his jaw muscle was tightening. Mike gripped the back of one of his chairs, using it as a crutch. He was preparing for a knockdown-drag-out fight.

"This is about Trevor."

Mike bristled at this, "No, it's not."

"You can try to deny it but I can tell, this has got something to do with him." Harvey's brown eyes darkened with determination.

"I haven't spoken with Trevor in nearly two months."

Harvey shook his head, "Doesn't matter this is still about him."

"Well, you pretty much turned us against each other-,"

"He was dragging you down; you get rid of weight like that." Harvey cut in.

"I'm starting to doubt that's true."

Harvey looked up to the ceiling as if trying to calm himself, "Are you stupid?"

Mike tensed, "You know I thought you did all that stuff with Trevor because you cared, but I'm just a pawn in your game. A stepping stool for your success." Mike lamented, Harvey didn't say anything.

"I mean you treat everyone like that, keep them around, and then discard them when they are no longer useful." Mike continued, he knew he was treading dangerous ground with the murderous look he was getting from Harvey, "I mean look at Donna, she takes you down a few pegs and bam, discarded."

This got a rise out of Harvey; the man took quick strides to Mike. Mike didn't move this time, whether by bravery or pain, he didn't know. "You don't think I regret the day Donna walked on the elevator with a box in her hands." Harvey's voice cracked a rare display of emotion in the heat of the moment.

Mike refused to buckle under the weight of his stare; he did his best to look unfazed. This is Harvey's fault; he can dish it but just can't take it.

Press it till it hurts.

"You probably would use your own parents if you-," Suddenly, Mike found himself dazed and confused on the ground with a sore jaw. He groaned, his head was pounding. He saw a figure crouched down, hovering above him, and gently carding their hand through his hair.

"Mom?" He says blearily, hundreds of nights always ended with a shut of his favorite Curious George book and his Mom gently rustling his hair and tucking him in.

"Sorry kid, wrong anatomy." The figure muttered, but the voice seemed shaken by Mike's confusion.

"Wha?" Mike turned his head and felt the pain radiating from his cheek, he winced.

"Mike, are you okay - did you hit your head?" Harvey's voice, Mike recognized it, even with the uncharacteristic panic in it. The hands he thought were his mother's were Harvey's hands frantically looking for a bump or bruise. Mike felt a pang of loss, and then emptiness.

"Ow." His eyes refocused and Harvey's concerned face floated into view. "Really, that was a cheap shot." Mike grumbled - all the anger was drained from him, the man could really pack a punch.

Mike felt like passing out again. If his ankle had hurt before, it now felt like someone was taking a knife and stabbing up and down his leg.

Harvey began to help Mike get up, "Oh God, my leg." Mike blurted out without thinking.

"What about your leg?" Harvey asked sharply, while lowering him once more to the floor. Mike blushed. He fumbled for word, "Uh, ah - it's nothing really."

Harvey looked unconvinced; he swiftly lifted each pant left before finding a poorly bandage leg. He shook his head, incredulous, "I swear, Mike." Harvey was genuinely flabbergasted.

"It's just a sprain." Mike defended weakly. Harvey delicately prodded it.

Mike swooned and Harvey held him up, "Whoa there." All Mike could see were black and white spots filling up his vision.

Harvey shook him, "Still with me?"

The younger man nodded, his vision clearing.

"A sprain, my ass." Harvey grumbled and lifted Mike slowly up. Oddly reminiscent to the last time Mike sprained his ankle with Trevor

Harvey insisted that Mike sit on the couch so that he could get some ice.

"Stay there." Harvey pointed at him like he was restless child.

"Gladly." Mike flinched again, talking hurt. He forgot about the bruise forming on his face.

Harvey returned not 10 seconds later.

"Here, put this on your face." Harvey handed Mike a packet of frozen peas that he didn't remember buying and they probably expired several years before. Mike winced at the cold ice on his skin.

He had another frozen bag of assorted vegetables in his hands along with a bottled water and aspirin. He dropped them to the floor and carefully un-wrapped the bandage around the leg, shaking his head the whole time.

He glowered at Mike, "Have you seen a doctor about this?"

Mike hesitated.

Harvey scoffed, "Of course not. Do I want to know how you got this?"

"I stumbled."

"On thin air." Raised eyebrow.

Mike sighed, "I was helped."

"Who?" Mike was taken aback by the fierce protectiveness in Harvey's voice. He looked ready to punch another person.

Mike didn't answer and leaned his head back over the top of the couch, entering in a determined silence. "Fine, don't tell me. We're still going to the ER."

Mike's head shot up, "Harvey, that's not necessary!"

In order to make his point, Harvey lightly grazed Mike's badly swollen ankle.

"Fuck!" Mike gasped and pulled his leg away, "Fine, I'll go. You didn't have to be a bastard about it."

"Well you are intent on painting me as one, so I might as well live up to your expectations." Coldness creeped into Harvey's voice. He looked impassive but Mike knew he hurt him.

Mike looked to the ground, his words slightly inhibited by his numbing mouth, "Sorry, I kind of crossed the line"

Harvey snorted, "Kind of?" He then ran a hand through his hair, "We'll talk about this later. I texted Ray in the kitchen- he'll be here in a moment".

Mike vehemently shook his head.

"No, I don't want to put this off. I know that without your help, the person I loved most would probably be dead." Mike thought about his grandma falling, and felt his eyes prick a little, he didn't know how he could survive if he lost the last person who cared about him, "I lost sight of what mattered."

Harvey looked uncomfortable with the open confessions and hid it with a dry smile, "Dating Emily was a stupid idea." He said bluntly, but the reproachful tone was no longer there.

Mike laughed, "Yeah, I really wasn't thinking."

"Not surprised." Harvey muttered.

Mike balked, "Hey, ailing associate here. Lay off the insults!"

Harvey rolled his eyes, "Let me see it." Mike was briefly confused on what Harvey wanted to see until Harvey hands were gently holding his face. They were cold as he tenderly lifted Mike's chin. He scanned the bruised area and hissed, running his hand softly across the tender area, "Yeah, that'll last a few weeks."

"Don't worry; this will work in my favor with the other associates. They all think I'm some type of lightweight."

Harvey hummed in agreement, settling the peas back in place, "Which associate was it?"

Right back to the ankle story, Mike shouldn't be surprised that they would come back full circle to this. Harvey was like a bloodhound when trying to dig up information.

"I'm just clumsy."

"Mike." Harvey said impatiently, his phone started to ring, "Rays here. Let's go."

A long ER visit later, Mike was told that he had a small hairline fracture compounded with a sprain on his ankle. He was then placed in a boot that looked more like black casket for his foot.

Harvey was not amused when he found out that Mike has taken his bike to several places with a broken leg. Mike knew he wouldn't hear the end of it for weeks.

Mike was prescribed some heavy duty pain killers and sent on his merry way. They reached Mike's apartment in record time.

Mike got himself situated on the couch. He was unnerved by Harvey's hawk-like watch of him.

"You can go I'll be fine."

Harvey pursed his lips, "Ray will pick you up tomorrow." He raised one hand when Mike opened his mouth, "No protests."

Mike shut his mouth with an audible click, and waited expectantly for Harvey to leave but the older man looked like he was trying to say something.

"Trevor is not the end all, be all of friends." Harvey hesitated, "And you don't have to deal with Kyle on your own." Mike couldn't stop the shock registering on his face and then he found that Harvey was just taking a stab in the dark and Mike had just confirmed his theory.

"It's not just Trevor. I mean Rachel, Donna, Jenny -," He continued the first strain of the conversation. Harvey knew full well he was redirecting.

"Don't put Jenny on me that was all you." Harvey said.

Mike rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but I've been doing everything alone for a while. It gets to me." He hated the feeling of how pathetic it sounded. He expected Harvey to tell him to toughen up but Harvey's face softened.

"I'll never understand your friendship with Trevor, and I won't try to, but there are people who care about your well-being a lot more than he did. Trust me." Harvey brown eyes warmed Mike, and he felt some relief.

Harvey gave Mike a cursory glance, he was dressed pretty casually, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Mike said suspiciously, adjusting his leg off the couch.

"Porter House."

"What? Dressed like this with a crippled leg and a bruise on my cheek, I'll be thrown out!"

"I know the owner, you won't be thrown out." Harvey placated Mike, "Now come on, I'm hungry." Harvey handed Mike the crutch that was given to him by the Hospital. Mike took it and put it aside. He didn't need that.

"But I-,"

Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose, "Do you have to argue about everything?"

"Fine, fine." Mike grumbled feeling this is a much better alternative than an awkward date with Mr. Hayler's secretary.

"No alcohol." Harvey said pointedly as they both walked out of the room.

"Fine, you'll probably drink it all anyways." Mike muttered under his breath.

"I heard that. Now hurry up." Harvey called back. Mike smiled and walked faster to catch up with Harvey.

AN: Phew, this story had a mind of its own. My first draft was half this length, I didn't expect it to get so long. Thank you for reading and please review!


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